Isaiah 40:31

Context

Isaiah 40 opens with "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people" (Isaiah 40:1) and is regarded as the chapter that begins the message of comfort addressed to the people during the Babylonian exile. The latter part of the chapter (verses 12–26) celebrates the greatness of God the Creator, who has "meted out heaven with the span" and who "calleth them all by names." Then, when Israel complains in verse 27, "My way is hid from the LORD," verses 28–31 answer that God does not grow weary and that He gives power to the faint. Verse 31 is the conclusion of that answer: "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

Interpretation

• The meaning of "wait upon": The Hebrew word qavah, rendered in the Korean Revised Version as angmang ("to look up in longing hope"), means "to wait" or "to hope." The verse is therefore understood to describe not emotional fervor but an attitude of trusting God and waiting for the time when He will act. Many modern translations render the phrase "those who wait" or "those who hope."
• The meaning of renewed strength: In the original, "renew their strength" carries the sense of "exchanging" or "renewing" strength, and it is read to mean that where human strength runs out, it is exchanged for God's strength. This stands in contrast to verse 30: "Even the youths shall faint and be weary."
• The order of the three actions: Regarding the sequence of soaring, running, and walking, a widely known homiletical interpretation holds that the strength to walk steadily through everyday life is a greater grace than the peak experiences of faith. Others, however, point out that the sequence is simply a varied expression of the repetitive structure of Hebrew poetry.

Questions Concerning Application

Some sermons connect the eagle image with an old tale that eagles molt their feathers in old age and are renewed, but others note that the text says no such thing and that the tale has no zoological basis. Psalm 103:5, "thy youth is renewed like the eagle's," is often cited alongside this verse as a similar image. In response to the concern that the verse may lead readers to mistake waiting for passive resignation, interpreters emphasize that those who wait ultimately run and walk.

In the Korean Church

The verse is frequently read at early morning prayer meetings, during visits to the sick, and at retirement services. It is also widely used in church mottos, on framed wall hangings, and in gospel songs whose lyrics are drawn from it.

Related Passages

• Isaiah 40:28–30
• Psalm 103:5
• Psalm 27:14
• 2 Corinthians 4:16